Car Hire Zante - Zakynthos: Vineyards

Helping you to get the most from your car hire.

Destination Currants and Vineyards
Type of place scenic drive
Island Zante, Zakynthos
Distance from Zante Airport 10km




A very pleasant tour of the lowland region of Zante can be made with your car hire. One of the main regions of currant and wine production is on the great plain of Zakynthos that stretches inland from the bay of Laganas. The land is flat and fertile and with plenty of water sources, and has some of the best agricultural land in the Ionian. The area has always been agriculturally rich and is the main reason that Zante didn't loose its population in the Diaspora that depopulated other Ionian islands and after the big 1953 earthquake.

To explore the agricultural heartland of Zante, you will need a car hire as the public transport is very limited. Alternatively if you are staying near Laganas or Porto Koukla or even Tsilivi, and you've got strong legs bicycle hire could be an even better idea.
About the region

Zakynthos is a lush and green island, prized for its vineyards by the Venetians, who ruled the island for more than 300 years. A great deal of wine was exported to Venice but its main trade was in currants. In Venetian times, there were only two crimes punishable by death; treason and currant smuggling. This should give you an idea of how valued the vineyards of Zante were during these times. Even today, Zante currants are still highly prized.

Most, if not all, of the lowland parts of the island are covered with vineyards and two main types of grapes are grown - Ambelia, for wine production and Stafides, grown for drying - but there are many varieties of each. The most famous wine made on Zakynthos today is a white wine, Verdea.

The area is lush, green, and very pretty. With its vineyards, olive groves, market gardens and small wetland areas, the area teems with all sorts of bird life and other wildlife and is a good place to come and get away from it all. One of the best way to do this is to hire a car for a few days and escape the resorts.

Things to see and do

The area is very pleasant to explore, feeling a million miles away from the busy resorts on the coast of Zakynthos. There are several wineries on Zante where you can visit and buy your wines directly from the vineyard. The Calinico Winery has an exhibition of the history of viniculture on the island. Lady Comoutos will show you around the Comoutos Winery and give you a history of viniculture and the Comoutos Estate (9.00 - 12.00 and 18.00 - 21.00) and the Solomos Winery also opens to visitors. Click here for a great deal on Zante car hire.

Friends of the Ionian are keen to help you get the most out of your car hire. We want you to get the best value for money when you hire a car by having plenty of good idea for routes and excursions across Zante.Every car hire comes with a free map and DVD/CD Zante Explorer Pack. Just email with your car hire confirmation and address. Email us here

Friends of the Ionian are a not for profit company. For the past 17 years we have been working to bring about sustainable development in the Ionian islands of Corfu, Paxos, Lefkas, Ithaca, Kefalonia and Zante, Zakynthos.

We always encourage visitors to use public transport where possible though on Zante car hire to visit some of the remoter villages is essential. Friends of the Ionian offer competitive rates for car hire on Zante with free maps and Information packs included.